Vest Financial LLC Buys 16,902 Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford by 4.7%, buying 16,902 shares to hold 375,818 shares (about 0.13%) valued at roughly $51.79 million.
• Large insider selling occurred this quarter—EVP Lori Rodden sold 40,693 shares and CEO Christopher Swift sold 201,938 shares, with insiders netting 349,282 shares sold (≈$48.18M); company insiders now own about 1.30% of the stock.
• The Hartford missed EPS estimates for the quarter ($3.09 vs. $3.39 expected) despite $14.45B in revenue and strong metrics (ROE 22.5%, P/E 9.6); analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $149.38 price target.

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 375,818 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,902 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.13% of The Hartford Insurance Group worth $51,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at $207,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 56,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,122,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.9% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 167,868 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $21,297,000 after buying an additional 6,285 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.8% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,919 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 25.5% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 193,020 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $24,488,000 after buying an additional 39,220 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total value of $5,617,668.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,365.60. The trade was a 61.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 201,938 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.41, for a total value of $27,546,362.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 194,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,574,986.97. This represents a 50.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 349,282 shares of company stock worth $48,184,324. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded The Hartford Insurance Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.38.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE HIG opened at $136.77 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $137.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.81. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.81 and a twelve month high of $144.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $37.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.53.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.39 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $14.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.41 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 14.10%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The Hartford Insurance Group's payout ratio is currently 16.87%.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company Profile

The Hartford Financial Services Group, commonly known as The Hartford, is a U.S.-based insurance and investment company that provides a broad range of commercial and personal insurance products and employee benefits. Its core businesses include property and casualty insurance for businesses and individuals, group benefits such as group life, disability and dental plans, and retirement and investment solutions offered through affiliated asset-management operations. The company also delivers risk management, claims-handling and loss-prevention services designed to support policyholders across a variety of industries.

Founded in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1810, The Hartford is one of the oldest insurance organizations in the United States and has a long history of underwriting and product development across multiple insurance lines.

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